Leopard Trek goes Continental, mostly U-23, for 2012

Leopard s.a., owner of the RadioShack-Nissan-Trek team, has more on its plate than the WorldTour squad.

The company on Tuesday announced its Continental squad for 2012, dubbed Leopard Trek.

The squad, led by director Andriano Baffi, consists mostly of U-23 riders and is aimed at “promoting and developing Luxembourgish cycling in the world,” said team owner Flavio Becca.

Following the successes of Fränk and Andy Schleck with the WorldTour edition of Leopard Trek in 2011, “the popularity of cycling has grown to immense proportions” in Luxembourg, Becca added.

“It shouldn’t be a surprise that we want to build for the future,” Becca said. “With this team we are able to structurally search for talent and provide experience and training to young and promising athletes.”

Top prospects on the squad include Alexandr Pliuschin and Bob Jungels, the 2010 junior world time trial champion, said Baffi.

“Bob and Alexandr are absolute bright prospects and I am really looking forward to working closely with them,” he said. “Alexandr will be our road captain: he is an all-rounder and has some experience already. Bob, from his side, will be able to grow in terms of endurance and experience.”

Baffi added that he hopes to see each of his charges racing 60 to 70 days per season, “which would be an ideal learning experience for each one of them.”